LITTLE ROCK — Bulldogs wary of letdown
Greenwood Coach Rick Jones doesn't expect any letdown after the Bulldogs' wild 54-51 victory against Shiloh Christian last week.
The Bulldogs (2-1) open conferenceplay Friday when Morrilton (0-3) visits Smith-Robinson Stadium.
Greenwood beat the Devil Dogs 27-13 a yearago.
"Our kids know if you prepare well, you play well, and we learned three weeks ago if you prepare poorly, you play poorly," said Jones, referring to Greenwood's seasonopening 35-0 loss to Springdale Har-Ber. "The kids learned that in black and white."
Morrilton is led by two-way standoutJustin Criswell, who has scholarship offers from Kansas State and Louisiana-Monroe for his play as a defensive back.
Criswell rushed for 303 yards in a 44-42 loss to Little Rock Christian in the Devil Dogs' second game.
"Any week in our league, you can get beat," Jones said. "They have great overall speed. It's not just one guy. They have several guys who run really well." ALMA A new beginning
It was an interesting nonconference season for the Airedales.
Alma opened with a tie against Van Buren, nearly shocked No. 3 Springdale Har-Ber in the second week, then was hammeredby Springdale this past Friday.
Now the Airedales (0-2-1), the No. 5 team in Class 5A, open conference play at home Friday against Central Arkansas Christian (2-1).
"Everybody is 0-0, and that's the big key," Alma Coach Todd Dilbeck said.
"After Friday night, we want to be 1-0 and be in the driver's seat."
Dilbeck said there is no secret to getting Alma's first victory. He said the Airedales have to execute better, which the team didn't do in its 41-0 loss to Springdale.
"We had a little wind knocked out of our sails after the Springdale game," Dilbeck said.
The Mustangs will challenge the Airedales' run defense with sophomore Eric Simmons, who has rushed for 236 yards in the past two games. CAC could be without junior standout Jaalen Watkins, who sustained a sprained ankle early in the Mustangs' second game and missed last week's 21-7 victory against Lonoke.
"We have to stop their running backs," Dilbeck said. "They have two great running backs."SILOAM SPRINGS 3-0 is still 3-0
The Panthers finally looked good while winning Friday in their 38-7 victory over Gentry.
Coach Bryan Ross said he hopes the better performance against the Pioneers will carry over into conference play, which begins Friday when Siloam Springs (3-0) travels to Greenbrier (2-1).
"We're definitely happy to be 3-0," Ross said. "We didn't look pretty in the first two games, but we found a way to win."
Ross said the difference in last week's game was the team prepared well in the practices leading up to the game.
"It will hopefully springboard us into conference play," Ross said.
"I hope we've turned the corner, and they know what it takes to play a game."
Siloam Springs will again be without standout defensive lineman Deric England, who was injured in the second week. Ross said England has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
England won't require surgery but will be out of action until late October.
Sports, Pages 21 on 09/24/2009